


Highschool Daze

by jammies



Series: Generic Highschool Au [1]
Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Love Triangles, M/M, Short John
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-21
Updated: 2012-11-22
Packaged: 2017-11-10 09:30:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/464774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jammies/pseuds/jammies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sound of the alarm rouses me from sleep, it was once a sound that just meant it was time for school. Now all it did was make my stomach churn.</p><p> </p><p>The alarm means getting up. Getting up means going to school. Going to school means, inevitably, that I was going to have a new bruise before first period even started.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The sound of the alarm rouses me from my sleep, it was once a sound that just meant it was time for school. Now all it did was make my stomach churn.

  
The alarm means getting up. Getting up means going to school. Going to school means, inevitably, that I was going to have a new bruise before first period even started. Rolling onto my side I turned off the alarm, sighing into the pillow for just a moment followed by forcing myself to my feet and down the hallway into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror had come to be something I hated. No longer was there just a slightly tanned face with a zit here or there. It was much worse. Reaching up I brushed my fingers over the yellow-green bruise on my jaw before trailing down to the one on my collar bone, wincing. It was fairly new, and hurt to touch just in general. After the inspection I brushed my teeth and took a shower, enjoying the hot water running over my bruised back before getting out and going to my room, a towel twisted around my hips. Avoiding eye contact with myself in the full-length mirror on the back of my door I got dressed in some blue plaid pants and a plain blue shirt. Last but not least came packing my homework into my bag and slipping into my shoes almost reluctantly.  
  
Down the stairs I went, snagging a paper bag off the kitchen counter before leaving through the front door. My dad had become a pretty transient being in my life since my mom had passed away. I was used to taking care of myself, but it was a little hard when there was no one to talk to anymore. Locking the door behind me I started down the front steps, already feeling my heart sinking into my stomach with every step I took.  
  
The school was not that far away, about a ten minute walk at the worst, and I was there earlier than usual. My palms felt slippery with sweat and my chest was tightening, even my mouth had gone dry. Hopefully, today I would have made it to the doors completely unscathed, my eyes were peeled for my tormentors and I saw none before me. But the streak was broken by the sound of laughter. My pace picks up so I can make it to the door before somone snags my backpack and throws me down.  
  
"P-Please." I mumble, reaching up to cover my face as the people kicked and punched me, hollering and laughing. Apparently it was funny. Funny to everyone except myself  
  
”Fucking little nerd since when do you think walking through these hallways was going to be easy? You don’t run from us.” Of course I knew that, I knew that it would happen like it did everyday and there was no stopping that. But that didn't mean I would stop trying to find a way out.

“Just deal with it beaver boy it’ll be easier.” I looked up to the blond who had spoken, searching his dark shades for a moment before covering my face from the incoming blows. I didn't want to be asking my dad to but me another pair of glasses for the second time that month. Though of course, it was no use. One of the larger guys grabbed my arms and twisted them behind me. I shut my eyes tight and it felt like everything went in slow motion before the cracking of glass sounded and the feeling of knuckles connecting with my face brought me back to reality. Shouting I struggled to get away, only to recieve a hit to the stomach, the wind knocked out of me.

  
It lasted a while, the bullying, but only only until the first period bell chimes. I was dropped to my knees and I scrambled to pick up my belongings, attempting to piece together the broken glasses. If I didn't know any better I'd say there were pieces probably stuck in my skin, even if I hadn't felt it. A few students passed by me as I gather my things, pretending not to care and it's lonelier than ever. At this point every part of me was aching and I could taste blood so either my nose was bleeding or I had split my lip. Sighing, I shoved one of my textbooks into my bad before getting to my feet, struggling a bit to do so.  
  
“Hey you dropped some over here too. You alright?” Flinching, I looked up at the blond, stepping back slightly. He had probably come back to get his own punches in after the others had finished or- Oh. Why was he grabbing papers off the ground for someone like me? They were being held out and I snatched them back, shoving them into my bag, followed by my glasses that were pretty much done for. “I’m fine,” I muttered, wiping my nose on my arm. “If you’re going to hit me then do it. I have to get to class.”

 

"I'm not going to hit you. I just thought I'd help you with uh... The papers and stuff." Well. He wasn't as big and scary as he seemed with ten or more huge jocks around him. Actually, he wasn't even that bigger than you. Maybe a few inches give or take or... Okay he had a couple of feet on you. But he just didn't seem like he was an overall threat. Finally, the boy turned around, walking down the hallway.

  
I watched him walk away, perplexed, and frowning. He was far away when I finally remembered to speak, calling out an awkward thank you, though I wasn't quite sure if he could hear me or not from the distance.

  
Spinning around on my heels I headed for the nearest bathroom, dropping my backpack and taking a good look at myself in the mirror, despite what I knew I would see. My left cheekbone was showing signs of turning a deep purple and my nose was bleeding. Licking my lips I lifted my shirt to see that my chest and stomach were littered with bruises. Shuddering, I dropped my t-shirt back over myself and leaned over the sink, hands gripping at the sides as I allowed the tears to finally fall.

  
"Pardon me chap, if you will." A voice shook me from my tears and I reached up, wiping at my eyes furiously before spinning around to scan the washroom. No on was there. Confused, I reached over and grabbed a paper towel, pressing it gingerly under my nose before calling out a timid, "is anyone there?" Tink tink tink. The screws from the vent fell to the ground, and in dropped a kid I had never seen before.

  
“You look like you got banged up quite a bit! An unfair bout of fisticuffs I’m guessing?” He asked, and I raised an eyebrow despite being beat up in general. This was as strange an occurrence as anything. Maybe he was a junior or something?  
  
“It’s nothing.” I say as evenly as I can, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. “Don’t worry about it.”  
  
Apparently that wasn’t the best response because now he was advancing towards me. “Nothing? Nothing!? Lad you look like you’ve been beat quite badly and I’m not just saying that. And I’ll be calling a load of bullocks if you lie to me again because so help me I will drag you to the infirmary.”  
  
“It’s not worth it!” I say a little louder than I mean to, pushing my fingers through my hair and looking the other boy up and down. He had to be new around here; hell, he sounded like he wasn’t even living in this century. He’s taller and broader than I are by quite a bit, and I notice he’s more tan than anyone I've ever met that was from around here. Recoiling as he moved closer to me, I drop the paper towels in the trash bin and pick up my backpack. “Look,” I get out, sighing heavily, “I’m fine. I’m sorry for snapping. It’s just not worth it.”

  
Before I could leave the older guy had grabbed my arm suddenly and I turned to look at him.  
  
“Ahh look at least borrow my jacket, that looks a little tight on you and I’ll be damned if I let you wander getting all twisted up like a tinkerbull in the gnarly vines of the forest.”  
  
I look down at his hand around my slender arm, startled by how large his hands were compared to my own. Then again, my hands were small with long pianist fingers. I watch him take off his jacket and before I can protest he’s holding it out to me and I feel like shutting him down again would be kind of rude so I take his jacket before removing my own and slipping my arms into it. It was a nice sort of green color, like this stranger’s eyes. Oh god that was a really gay thought, but it was true. Cheeks coloring faintly I look down at the tips of my fingers poking out from the ends of his sleeves.  
  
  
“Thanks,” I mumble awkwardly, zipping it up halfway. It smelled nice. Not any sort of scent I could put your finger on. “I’m John, by the way.”  
  
The other kid gave a lopsided smile before grabbing my jacket and trying to put it on, it might stretch a little, hell it looked way too small for him. But that seemed fine enough, it would smell like him later or something… Besides he was still wearing it regardless and I didn’t think I would be getting it back considering how things had been going so far.  
  
“Name’s Jake English, pleasure to meet you lad!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting Jake I couldn't help but note that the rest of the classes in the morning passed a bit uneventfully. Thanks to everything that had happened I showed up late to math class and ended up getting a scolding by the teacher. Luckily she didn't give me detention. For the rest of the period I doodled little clouds in the margin of my notebook. The class was followed promptly by physics. It was really hard to concentrate, my thoughts always floated back to the tanned boy whose jacket I was wearing.

After meeting Jake I couldn't help but note that the rest of the classes in the morning passed a bit uneventfully. Thanks to everything that had happened I showed up late to math class and ended up getting a scolding by the teacher. Luckily she didn't give me detention. For the rest of the period I doodled little clouds in the margin of my notebook. The class was followed promptly by physics. It was really hard to concentrate, my thoughts always floated back to the tanned boy whose jacket I was wearing.

Lunch was next, and I was nauseous with apprehension, knowing that instead of actually getting to eat, I would end up with a lap full of food. Standing at the doors of the cafeteria I swallowed hard before entering, making it quick to get myself a sandwich and soda. Afterwards I found myself a seat in the emptiest part of the cafeteria, keeping my head down as the familiar sound of whispers filled my ears. People knew what was coming, they knew but they wouldn't help. They never did.

I noticed the group of bullies advancing on me, cracking their knuckles and grinning the closer they got. My fingers curled and tightened around the edges of the tray, stomach twisting until I felt like I was going to upchuck all over the cafeteria floor. This was not going to be good, they looked angrier today.

"Excuse me! What, may I ask, are you doing?" The familiar voice forced me to look up from the tray to look for the source of the yelling. Oh god. Jake was coming to be a hero. "What a bunch of malarkey! Don't play cheap tricks",  I was to my feet so fast I nearly fell over the back of the bench. I didn't want Jake to get himself clobbered on his noble mission. My eyes turned on the group of bullies, and I noticed one person in particular staring at me.

 

I could see myself reflecting in the sunglasses of the blond football player, and I bit my lip as I looked away quickly, instead searching out Jake. I couldn't see what was in his hand, but I had a pretty good idea judging by the way the larger boys had leapt backwards and others cried out in surprise. Someone had fallen, and I looked to where the blonde was he see he had been pushed down by his friends in their scramble. Climbing over the bench I knelt down next to him, holding out a hand to help him get up to his feet. "Returning the favor", I whispered to him, just so that none of the others would hear me.

 

The boy was shy, which you found a little weird for such a big guy, and he replied awkwardly, "oh, uh, thanks", I didn't think I had ever seen someone act so shy around me. It was weird to say the least.

He thanked me and hurried off, the corners of my lips turning up as I watched him go, only until Jake walked up to me. Holstering his gun he told me about how the gun wasn't even loaded and that the people around here didn't know anything about guns. I was going to say something about no one here really needing guns, but that seemed kind of useless. My eyes traveled between the gun and his face, before he swung his arm up and around my shoulders. A sound of surprise passed my lips and I looked down at the ground. Didn't Jake know that he was going to ruin his reputation at school by hanging out with me? I was a loser, nothing but a punching bag by this point.

 

"How about we sit outside then? You seem a bit pale." Rolling my eyes at his proposal he rose my head up again, looking to him.  Jake was ridiculous.

"It's not my fault that I'm not as tan as you." I mutter as he notes my skin color, reaching up I rub the back of my neck before turning around and picking up my tray. "Lead the way.

After his cheer of, "Right-O!", I allowed him to tug me about, in the meantime I stole quick appreciative glances up at his face. He was handsome in a rugged king of way, it was hard not to think so. Now we were both outside, and I set down my tray on the grass, watching Jake fall back. The jacket he had taken from me was much smaller on Jake, and it rode up on his broader figure. It was so distracting I hardly even noticed when he had even asked me to join him.

Why was he even wearing it anyway? It looked ridiculous on him. Maybe he was just trying to be nice. My eyes were still wandering over his body and I noticed the trail of hair disappearing under the waist of his jeans. Face turning red, I rushed to sit down next to him, balancing my tray on my knees. I was attempting to hide my face from him until my cheeks could return to some sort of normality.

Jake's reaction, of course, only make it worse.

"By God John, are you alright? You look sickly, is something the matter?" He asked, and then he pulled me against his chest, petting my head in the most dramatic of ways.

My face was burning; hell, even my ears felt hot at that point. I wondered if I should lie and say I felt sick and that's why I've suddenly grown feverish. Or should I be honest, shifting, I pressed my cheek into the others chest. He was built somewhat like a brick wall, and I could feel how solid he was now that I was against him. His fingers were in my hair and I felt like I was going to faint then and there.

So I did.

John: Be the other guy

Well that was a bit strange, I thought, looking down at the boy. The lad was simply looking ill one moment and the next he's passed out. I would say it was foul play but of course there was nothing to go off of, he simply just conked out. Lifting John up in my arms, I held him close, making sure not to drop him so that I could still keep my knapsack on my shoulder.

With a hearty chuckle I started off, trying to get to the clinic. I was a bit confused on my way when I realized i didn't exactly know where the clinic was. Luckily, I bumped into someone who I was sure would be able to help me. It was the blonde boy who was usually with the large group and he was at his locker, just now shutting it.

"Pardon me, but would you happen to know where the clinic is?" He's now turned to look at me, and he seemed ready to reply until his eyebrows practically shot up into his hairline.

 

"What happened to the kid?" His voice was steady and calm, but it was very obvious that he was concern. The boy's body had gone ridged, much like an animal when it's startled. "He seemed a little ill and then he just passed out, quite the sight I would say, now if you don't mind, I'd really like to see where the clinic is."

There was no reply, he just sort of ended up staring at me before he cleared his throat rather audibly. "Well class is almost over, how about I just take him? It'll be fine. I need to head up there anyway, I busted my wrist up pretty bad during weight training." Of course, a story like that makes you feel a little bit reluctant. He hangs out with the people who decide it's okay to use the little bloke as a punching bag, and that was not okay in my book unless it was for a friendly bout of fisticuffs. Maybe I could trust him for the moment, he's going there too, and it appears he's not lying. From my experience with traversing through the jungles I knew what it looked like to have a messed up wrist.

It appeared he was having trouble just holding his knapsack, however...

"Will you be able to carry him in that condition?"

"Of course."

Fine, I'd leave it to him them. Walking forward, I kept my eyes locked onto his shades narrowed into a dangerous glare as I dumped the small boy into his arms, careful not to jar him around too much.

"Don't drop him", I warned as I turned to head back and get my things.

Jake: Be the unconscious boy

Sometime later I woke up, blinking my eyes open and looking around in a haze. Where was I anyway? One minute I'd been outside, blushing furiously into the chest of one Jake English and the next I was... In the clinic? Groaning, I rolled onto my side, reaching up to rub my eyes, wincing when I remembered they were bruised and that rubbing did not feel so great. The sound of someone breathing beside you made you stiffen up and you looked over to see a familiar face. Scooting towards the other side of the bed you widen your eyes at him. It was the one guy, Dale? Drake? Something along those lines. He's sitting in a chair not too far and frowning at his lap. At least he was until he noticed my movement.

"Woah, woah, woah, calm down you're going to hurt yourself or something bro."

Frowning while he spoke, I tried to relax a little. He sounded genuinely concerned for me, and I didn't know what to make of that. Sure, I knew he wasn't like the other football players, but that didn't give me any sort of inclination to trust him. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, I allowed my legs to dangle over the edge, eyes searching the walls for a clock. I had to idea what time it was, what if I got in trouble from the teachers? Did they even know I was here? "Why am I here? Where's Jake? I don't even know your name!" The questions were being fired off as I rubbed my forehead.

"Well, you apparently passed out on the Jake guy. Very smooth I have to say. I'm Dave, by the way. I thought you would have known that." Making a face at the other I looked down at the wrist and just ignored him speaking. How had that happened? Was it when he fell in the cafeteria earlier? My eyes softened a bit and I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Forgive me if I'm not really a fan of football." I replied in retort, laying my palms flat against my thighs. For some reason he made a face at this, but I didn't think it was something to take note of. "I'm John, but I think you already know that." My voice was quiet as I added that, unzipping Jake's jacket from around me because it had grown rather warm in the nurse's office. Gesturing to his wrist I rose and eyebrow, "how did that happen? Are you okay?"

"That's fine. You're forgiven. I thought everyone here liked football or something, then again I can be a bit narrow minded, I'll admit." Dave seemed to go silent for a moment before speaking my name slowly, just a simple mumble of John but nevertheless, I rose an eyebrow when he repeats my name, testing it on his own lips. It sounded kind of nice when he said it, southern drawl laced in. I didn't think any of the football players had called me by my name before; mostly it was beaver boy, four eyes, pussy.

"But yeah I hurt it while, uh, weightlifting and yeah it was hurting when I saw you and the new guy Jake so I king of took you here myself since I was on the way, no big deal." When he explained what happened I couldn't help but grin, leaning forward with my hands on either side of the bed. "Are you sure you didn't hurt yourself when you fell in the cafeteria? You took kind of a nasty spill." I noted, my voice in a sing-song teasing tone.

"Of course I'm sure!"

I recoiled now, shocked when he had yelled. All of my amusement that had been lighting up my face was now extinguished. He obviously hadn't taken that as a joke as much as I had. Looking down at my lap I decided it was best to avoid looking at Dave for a while. "Sorry." I mumbled under my breath, "I guess that was kind of my fault, wasn't it?"

Dave broke his cool, stumbling over his words as he responded this time with, "what? Ahh, no, no, I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell, I'm just a baby sometimes I guess and I don't want to admit it. But that doesn't mean I'm any less tough or something, I'm totally tough. The toughest of them all. I can punch fucking holes in the wall, it's intense." Well, he was rambling.

"Sure. Totally tough." I repeated, getting to my feet and re-zipping the large jacket. It was probably close to three o' clock and if I could, I wanted to have a head start to get out of the school. At least I could avoid running into Dave's less kind friend's that way. "Uh, I'm going to go", I state awkwardly, looking Dave up and down and offering him a smile. "I hope your wrist feels better."

Before I even made it out the door he was jumping up, offering to walk me to my car or to my house or something because apparently he had an umbrella. That was swell and all,but that didn't seem like a good idea. "Besides, maybe the guys will stay away, I don't know", he added. Despite how calm and collected his facial expressions were, he seemed a little desperate for some unfathomable reason.

Holding my hands up in protest, I shake my head. "No, it's fine!" Backing up towards the door I grabbed the handle. "I mean, I don't drive and you don't need to walk me to my house. A little rain never killed anyone!"

It wasn't like I didn't appreciate that he cared about me getting home dry, but there was something about someone who associated with the enemy knowing where I lived that I was a little concerned about. Sure, Dave seemed nice enough but I didn't know if I could trust him yet. What if this was some sort of joke at my expense? Befriend the loser and then do something horrible to him when he least expects it. "I'm used to your friends, it's no big deal."

“Well, uh alright. Just make sure you change into some dry clothes or something when you get home, and clean yourself up too.” Dave cleared his throat before facing me once more, hands shoved into his pockets in a careless manner. “Take some vitamins or something, they help get rid of bruises.”

Opening the door, I looked over my shoulder with a soft expression. “Not really worth taking vitamins”, I say with a shrug, “Not when I’ll just get new ones tomorrow.”

With that I excuse myself from the clinic, hurriedly collecting my bag from my locker and exiting the school, hugging Jake’s jacket around myself as I started down the front steps and across the lawn towards the sidewalk.

This was going to be a long year.


	3. Chapter 3

A few weeks had passed since I had met Jake and started talking to the alleged cool kid Dave. Overall, I was feeling a bit confused about everything going on. Of course, that didn't change the course of the days, even if Jake was a good guard most of the time. Sometimes I woke up without the fear of getting a few new bruises.

It was like any other day, grabbing the bag off the counter after getting dressed and ready. At least, it was normal until I came out to see that the street was not as dead as usual. Hugging Jake's jacket around me ( I had taken to wearing it almost all the time), I squinted through my new glasses at the blonde with his butt parked on the sidewalk in front of my house. Why was Dave even here? Frowning I crossed my arms over my chest and walked over to him, looking over his shoulder. "Why are you here? Playing the knight in shining armor or something?"

"What do you mean, aren't street curbs open to sit on or something? For all you know I could have been thinking over lifes hardships and whether or not I should cross the road, the chicken had a hard time deciding you know?" Dave countered, crossing his arms and he just looked over ridiculous. What even was he doing in the first place? Dave was just strange.

Snorting I shook my head and rolled my eyes, "Whatever, weirdo." Turning I began to head in the direction of the school. "Have fun contemplating roads and chickens, cool kid." Raising up a hand I waved at him over my shoulder before letting out a laugh, still walking.

Dave was right up behind me in a matter of seconds, just like I had expected, and he was running his mouth on and on once more. "Well I mean, okay maybe I was waiting for you or something. But you live pretty close by actually, and anyway I thought a few weeks of back and forth friendly banter or something meant we could walk together. "

Slowing down I allowed Dave to catch up with me, looking over him, "waiting for me, huh?" I repeated back, smiling. "Yeah, waiting for you." Was his response and I couldn't help another eyeroll. He had proven himself to be somewhat trustworthy over the past few weeks, and I had even front a little comfortable around him. "So how long have you been following me home?" I questioned, stealing a glance up at his face with a knowing grin. It was fun to tease him. Not matter how emotionless he tried to act he ended up breaking it for a moment.

"It's not like I've been following you home, gosh, you're not that special. But I mean I noticed that you lived a few houses down from me like a week ago."

"You're the special one", laughing I look forward. "Special with a capital 'R'." No matter how unattractive it was, I ended up in a fit, snorting and laughing, stretching my arms up behind my head as I walked. "But wow. Which house is yours?" I asked once I had calmed down a bit, a bounce in my step.

"Special doesn't have an R in it stupid." Was his very 'intelligent' response and the laughter bubbled up in my throat again, arms around my stomach as I doubled over. God he was such an idiot sometimes. He just snorted indignantly and pointed over at a big white house, the garage was open and there was a motorcycle in there propped up against a work bench. "Right there at that classy ass place."

Muttering a wow I stared at the impressive house. After a bit I turned my sights back into the direction I was heading, pushing my sleeves up to my elbows. They were still littered with bruises, all in various stages of healing, some yellow and others closer to black. "That's pretty cool", I said, trying not to sound overly impressed by Dave's set-up. Slowing down when I turn the corner I looked up at the blonde. "Do you want to go first or should I? Don't think your friends would appreciate you hanging out with a loser like me." It hurt to say, but it seemed like Dave cared about his reputation more than me. Honestly, it was hard to tell what Dave felt about the whole situation. If he hated seeing you hurt so much, why didn't he stop it?

"I'll go, I uh, hope you have a good day kid, watch yourself. " Then he was wandering away towards the school and I let out a puff of hair, blowing my messy bangs from my forehead. What a character he was.

Waving at him as he went, I waited a couple of minutes before heading in the same direction that Dave had gone in, carefully avoiding any confrontation outside the school. Soon enough I was inside the hallway, throwing my stuff into the locker aside from a couple of notebooks and a pen. Now it was time for mission number two; finding Jake. I was never really sure of where I'd find him, or if I'd find him at all.

Of course, sometimes, he came to me.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when the tall boy landed at my feet, staring down at him dumbfounded. "G'morning John!" He greeted after his rather hard fall. "Morning, Jake." I say after a couple of minutes, meeting a handful of bizarre looks before squatting down to help the other boy up. I hoisted him up and ran my fingers over his clothes, brushing him off before absentmindedly pushing my fingers through his disheveled hair. Smiling softly I eyed him up and down before moving down him again to tie up his shoelace before he ended up on his face again.

Once finished with tying his shoe, I got to my feet and brushed off my jeans, quirking a brow at how he was suggesting going on an adventure and jut skipping school. "Won't we get in trouble though?" I asked, immediately realizing what a total square I sounded like. Worrying my bottom lip I scratched the back of my head, shrugging. "I mean, not like I care or anything. Yeah, sure."

While Jake's response of, "gracious John I wasn't saying you had to, you can stay behind and I'll go on my own. I've wanted to check the parks out anyway and apparently they go really far back into the woods. I plan on conquering them", was lighthearted I didn't exactly want to seem lame to him.

"No! I'm in!" I replied immediately, smiling nervously back at the brawnier teenager mumbling under my breath, "I'm not a pussy." Clearing my throat I jerk a thumb in the direction of the front doors. "Let's go!"

"We'll have loads of fun believe me! I've had enough of this bookish malarkey for a few weeks now, I just want to run!"

Jake makes a move to grab at my arm to start pulling me along and I nearly trip over my feet as he begins to tow me along, laughing quietly. At least I didn't have to come up with any excuse to tell my dad; he wouldn't be home for another week or so. I could just delete the automated message from the answering machine and pretend I'd been at school the entire time.

A bit of blond hair caught my eye as we ran by and I raise a hand to wave as Dave as Jake pulled me through the front doors. Should I have invited him? Would he even want to come? I felt a little bad leaving Dave, he had been nice enough to walk to me to school.

Jake's sudden possessiveness went unnoticed, as well as he started to pull me a little faster out into the forest. Though, when he let go of me, I was immediately latched onto his wrist, fingers curled tightly, somewhat nervous. I wasn't a very outdoorsy person. My backyard was about all the outdoors I had been even willing to venture into. "So, how's it going with life and such, chum?" Jake's voice interrupted my nervous thoughts and I turned to look at him. "Oh, uh..." I mumble, shrugging, "It's okay I guess. Better since you've been around really."

He walked for a while and I followed behind before we slowed down, my fingers detaching from his wrist. Deciding to sit, I flopped down on a patch of grass near a tree, leaning back to rest my head against the trunk, eyes half close.

"Really now? I'm glad I've been such an influence. You had it pretty bad it seems." The other  honestly cared about me, and I was happy in a way, that someone even cared enough to be concerned for me. For some reason, I couldn't even think of Dave at the time.

"Well, I'm just not very big... Or strong." I say, shrugging my shoulders, "I kind of sealed my fate when the football team outed me last year."

After a little bit of silence, Jake was laughing half-heartedly, asking, "well that can be changed, and may I ask, what do you mean by outed exactly?"

Opening one eye I smiled at him sadly, shaking my head. "I have asthma. It's pretty much impossible for me to work out without ending up in the emergency room!" Laughing softly I crossed my arms over my stomach, crossing my legs in front of me. "Oh", I began, "Well... I dunno. Last year one of them came onto me at a party and I kissed him and they taped it and sent it to the entire school. No one forgets stuff like that."

It seemed to take him a while, this time when I looked at him he was just watching me, as if wondering why in the world something like that had happened. "I don't see what the big deal is with people. Even back on my island I had read about things of this sort but never could I understand people on it. Bullocks is what it is, I mean I haven't even been kissed before, what difference does it make on what gender it is. Though I guess I am biased or something, since I am a man of adventure."

Eyes softening, I lifted my shoulders and dropped them again, looking long and hard at Jake's face. He was so... Open. So accepting. With a frown I spoke, "Too bad there aren't more Jake English's in the world huh?" Laughing I reached up and punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Oh well I'm sure there are! I can't be the only one who thinks in this way." Reaching over he placed a heavy hand on my head, ruffling at my hair playfully and flashing a gentle smile. I noticed how his eyes closed and when he smiled. "You're a great person John, don't let anyone tell you otherwise based on something so insignificant about you. There's so much more to you."

Leaning into his fingers gratefully, I found myself staring at his lips, licking my own in thought. "Thank you..." I whisper, sad when his fingers move from the top of my head. I couldn't help but beam and feel my stomach somersault when the island teen touched me; even something as simple as a brush of fingers in the hallway or his elbow digging into my ribs playfully. Sighing, I fell back against the tree, feeling not much different from a lovesick teenage girl.

"So tell me then, what is it like? Kissing someone I mean? Was it just like the ones in movies or something? Because that looks intense. Granted I used to practice on my posters of the beautiful women of the cerulean type but I've never really kissed so I wouldn't know." Then of course, came that subject. Jake was a little innocent with saying it, and it was kind of funny coming from someone who was considered my upperclassman.

"It's pretty good!" I admit, grinning a little at Jake's mention of movies. It was nice to have a friend who had a totally indiscriminate taste. He was always game for movie marathons. "Like... I don't know. You have to want to kiss the person you're going to kiss, otherwise it's awkward and gross. But if you want to, the you just go for it and it makes your heart race and their hands are everywhere and it's... Awesome."

"Well what if one were to kiss a friend they were quite close to. Would that be what one would call, 'awkward and gross'?" Well that was an interesting question to hear from him. Though of course, Jake himself was an interesting character.

"I dunno", I replied, opening one eye, "I mean, if you like your friend I don't think it'd be that weird!"

"I apologize for this if it's any bother. I'm just a little curious." Both of my eyes were opened now, confusion for when Jake apologizes for something. Before I could even ask for what exactly his lips were pressed against mine and holy moly, does that feel nice. His lips are rough against my own and oops, I think I forgot how to breathe for a second there because all of a sudden I take in a deep breath, pulling back from Jake, blue eyes as big as saucers. I wasn't done yet. "Jake..." I breathe, before moving forward, pressing our mouths together again, it was all teeth at first before Jake got into the rhythm of things.

Somehow I had managed to knock the other over and I was laying beside him in the grass, still attached at the lips. Despite how rough his lips were, he was still a gentle kisser, great despite how awkward he was. Every so often, his teeth would knock against mine but that just made it all the better.

It was so Jake and so perfect.

Reaching up I wrapped my arms around Jake's neck, nibbling on his bottom lip and teasing before drawing back. I knew my face was red, I could feel the heat radiating. My eyes were wide behind my glasses. "I'm so sorry", I get out through my heavy breathing, unwrapping my arms from his neck and stumbling back wards.

Falling against the tree I closed my eyes, glasses sliding down the bridge of my nose. Well. That was a think that happened. Sicking in a deep breath I opened one eye to gauge Jake's reaction. He's smiling. That's good, I think.

"What are you apologizing about? For a first kiss I'd say it was... I mean gadzooks, wow, John."

And then he's talking again and you're suddenly very relieved. "Oh, well," I murmured, "good." Jake looked over at me and smiled, moving to sit next to me and I looked away from him.

"I'm glad someone like you was my first kiss though, chum. I don't think I could trust anyone around here."

Making a face, I let my eyes flick over to Jake's face as hid hand fell heavy onto my head. Snorting I leaned into his arm with a shrug. "Probably a good plan," I say, "people around here kind of suck." Closing my eyes after a few more minutes, I put my head on Jake's shoulder. "You should come over to my place sometime. I mean, my dad's never around. We could watch movies."

"Why, Mr. Egbert. That sounds very scandalous." He was laughing and then his arm went around his shoulders, I was hyper aware of his hand rubbing at my shoulder. "All joking aside, sure my good pal, I'll come over and hang out for a while. Sound like a blast!"

Raising an eyebrow I found myself flushing when I saw Jake's wink. "S-Scandalous? Why's that?" I asked nervously, fiddling with the zipper on my jacket.

"It was a joke lad." Is his response and he stand sup, hand out to you. "Let's go ahead and go, I would love to see some movies."

I make a face at him, feeling my cheeks flush. But nonetheless I reach for his hand and allow him to pull me to my feet, stumbling against his chest. Peeking up at him I smiled sheepishly before burying my face into his chest, arms around his sides. "Thank you for being my friend, Jake."

Arms went back around me and I peek up to see him smiling warmly at me, "you as well."


	4. Chapter 4

The days that Jake wasn’t at school were the worst Days. It was like beating on me was a free-for-all, and when the jackets knew that I didn’t have my gun-slinging best friend to keep me safe they were on me like wolves to prey. Sighing, my shoulders slumped forward as I walked, I knew that was coming.

It was like clockwork, I wasn’t even surprised when I found myself some hours later in the second-floor boys’ bathroom, mouth and nose bleeding and every other part of me black and blue, littered with bruises. Spitting in the sink, I watched the red saliva mix with the warm water rushing from the tap and then down the drain. My everything hurt, and to be honest, I was feeling dizzy, more so than usual. Leaning forward to get a better look at myself, I moved my fingers gingerly over the bruises on my cheek, frowning.  
“Hey, need any help?”

Nearly leaping out of my skin I flipped around to face the source of the voice, gripping the edges of the sink until my knuckles ached. “No, I’m totally fine.” I snapped at Dave, the person who had joined me. Slowly I looked down at the ceramic floor before turning around.

I did not want to see him.

Sure, Dave was a nice guy when they were alone, but he never stepped in to help. He didn’t make it help. Therefore, to me, he was the enemy. Reaching for some paper towels I snagged them out of the dispenser and wadded them up, wetting them under the water before pressing it against my lip, wincing.

Dave still wasn’t getting the hint that I wanted to leave, in the mirror I could see him moving closer and looking for something in his back. “John just look at me.”

There was no waiting for the answer, instead Dave just grabbed my shoulders and turned me around so I was facing him, tilting my head up. My eyes were focused on his chest as he dapped at my face with a soft material, being terribly gentle. There was no way I could look to his shades, I could practically feel the burn of his gaze on me already.

“I’m sorry.” It’s quiet for a moment after that, and I let a slow breath exit my lips, one that I’d been holding for a while. Finally I looked up into his shades, making some sort of “eye contact”. I couldn’t stay mad at Dave. As much as I wanted to push him and storm out, I just couldn’t. Instead I was moving forwards, wrapping my arms around his middle in a wordless acceptance of his apology. His arms went to circle me in return.

It went silent for a bit again, a common thing for Dave so I didn't question it. The silence was broken a couple minutes later. "We should probably get going,the teachers are going to be prowling or something. I'll walk you to the nurses office." It was a little upsetting that he had to let me go, sometimes it was nice to have a solid person to hold onto rather than feeling a bit alone.

Frowning, I grabbed my bad before Dave began to tow me towards the nurses' office. I found it hard not to stare at the blonde, practically burning holes with my eyes into the back of his head. The nurses was probably tired of me coming up there so often, I didn't want to go. But it wasn't my fault right? It's not like I could just say, hey don't beat up on me today so that the nurse doesn't get pissed off.

A soft sound between a whine and a groan passed my lips as I stumbled over my own feet in an attempt to keep pace with Dave. He still hadn't let go of my arm and I could practically feel electricity moving from the tips of his fingers and up into my arm, sparking a warm feeling.

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked down to my shoes as we walked. The fact that Dave wore sunglasses all the time was starting to get annoying. No one could ever be sure if he was actually looking at them or not. He was saying something, and I was vaguely paying attention, just shrugging my shoulders to his words, only paying attention when he actually turned around. The hallways were pretty much empty, save for a few student giving me looks, probably wondering whether or not I was about to get a one-on-one ass-kicking from one of the jackets.

"You don't have to look so freaked you know, I'm just going to help you get cleaned up again in the nurses office. Stop with the look of pure terror already I mean damn you would think I'm the scariest fucker in the world."

"I'm not freaked out", I murmered, "I just think this is a pointless.

Both of us had stopped completely now and Dave was turned to look at me. My eyes were wide as I looked up at him, sighing. "Well... Maybe I can walk you home or something? I mean I live right down the road." Dave just wasn't going to give up. He really was strange.

"Uh, fine, yeah. Sure." Shrugging I finally pulled my arm out of Dave's grip, rubbing where he had been holding with my other hand. "I'm not going to run away. You don't have to hold onto me." I said with a snort, peeking up at him with a smile.

The walk was long and silent after that, Dave had taken to his quiet awkwardness again, though I could swear every so often I could see him moving his lips, mumbling under his breath. In a way it was sort of comforting, just knowing I didn't have to stress over having something to talk about. Even if every so often I clould feel his eyes on me as if he was checking to see I hadn't noticed his mumbling.

My house was in sight, and we awkwardly hovered in front of the door for a bit as I wondered whether or not it was a good idea to invite him in. Shifting my weight from one foot to the other I finally decided it was fine, bending down to pull the key out from under the welcome mat, craning my neck to look at Dave. "Hey", I said quietly, trying to avoid looking at his stupid reflective sunglasses, "Do you want to come in? I mean, there's really no point in going back to class at this point."

"Yeah if you're sure. Not like I needed an invitation anyway, one day I'll just be waltzing into the house of Egbert before anyone knew what hit them." He was getting wordy, which meant that he really wasn't quite sure, and honestly it was a little funny, also lame. Chuckling I turned back to the door.

I pushed the key into the lock, turning and gesturing for Dave to follow me in after everything was said and done. My shoes slipped from my feet and I dropped my back, rolling my shoulders. When I looked up at Dave I could see his lips were pressed in a hard line. "It's cool, Dave", I assured, "My dad's like never home." Unzipping Jake's jacket I hung it in the hall closet, stretching my arms over my head to get rid of the stiffness accumulated after all the days events. "Do you want to watch a movie or something? I have like the best movies ever. There's no doubt about that." I threw myself on the couch without a care, sprawling out.

Dave sat down at my side, still towering over me but a little hunched into himself, looking small in retrospect. "Uh, yeah we can watch a movie. Just pick anything really, I don't care what."

Okay, so that left me open to some options, getting to my feet I walked to the movie stand and blindly grabbed one of them, opening my eyes to see I had gotten National Treasure. Good enough. The DVD player and the television were turned on and I popped in the movie, going back to the couch to flop down, looking at the blonde happily. "And we're set!"

Sitting back, I hugged my legs to my chest, chin on my knees to get more comfortable as I watched the film. Since the opening lines I hadn't even bothered to look at the blonde, I was entirely absorbed by the movie, something that happened often.

Everything that followed, was a shocker. An arm went around me and I flinched, not given enough time to process what was going on before Dave's fingers were under my chin and our lips were pressed together in a kiss. Part of me wanted to keep it going, but all I could think of was the laughter, the way everyone yelled out at you calling you a faggot, pushing you around. He had pulled back, coming in for a second kiss and I recoiled, frowning deeply at him, tears welling up in the corner of my eyes. "What the hell are you doing", I shouted, "if this is some stupid continuation of the prank you guys pulled on me last time you can get the hell out of my house."

His composer was broken, it wasn't like it never happened, I had seen Dave laugh and make weird faces but never had I seen him like this. Bottom lip quivering he scooted away, "Wow I.. I didn't mean that, I wasn't even there for whatever happened I just.. Oh god this is a huge misunderstanding and I should probably leave."

I winced as I watched Dave scramble away, tripping over his own long spindly legs. It dawned on me then that he was doing this on his own accord, not for some shitty prank. Now I felt like a total ass.

Getting to my feet I hurried over to him, catching his wrist in the hallway, tugging him back a bit. I didn't want him to go, no matter how deeply associated he was with those idiots I didn't want to lose one of the only people who had shown me kindness in that school, even if it was in a twisted way. "I'm sorry, please Dave, don't go." I was pleading with him because jesus I just felt so bad. "Please, you can stay. Hell I mean, you can even kiss me again if you just take off those damn shades."

There are no words, but I know he's staring atme, I can feel it. It's like an eternity passes before he started to lift the sunglasses up, pushing them into his hair. His eyes were closed at first and then slowly they were opened, revealing a deep red, maroon almost. Wow. The rumors weren't just rumors apparently. I was staring, but I found it hard not to care, his eyes were the most expressive, piercing, looking sort of sad in a way. He reached out, fingers brushing against the skin of my cheek. Oh god is this cheating? I thought vaguely. I didn't think so, I'd only kissed Jake, he wasn't my boyfriend. Jake was just a best friend who wanted his first kiss, so this wasn't bad was it?

I didn't even have time to think about it, the distance between us had closed, Dave's body nearly pressed against my own. Peering up at the blonde I smiled, "I like them", I whispered to him reassuringly.

That's all it took for Dave's reactions, his eyes lit up and the excitement built up inside me. I made the decision every time Dave was around his shades were coming off. Our lips were together now, pressed together just perfectly and I let out a soft sigh.

I leaned into the kiss this time, moving onto the tips of my toes to lessen the extent to which Dave had to bend down. This time I was so much more prepared as I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck. Dave's lips tasted nice, sort of like spearmint gum. Okay that was enough tasting and testing. It was time to get down to business. I was starting to guide him to the wall, pressing my back flat against it. I needed some support, before having to keep on my tip toes was making my knees shake. "Dave.." I mumbled into the kiss, pulling back to take a breath.

"Yes?" Came his reply as he slid a knee between my legs, hot breath puffing out against my lips for just a moment before he kept going. I didn't even know what I wanted to say anymore, I was zonining in and out, just listening to the puffs of breaths and the smacking of lips.

His tongue brushed at the seam of my lips and I parted the obediently, letting my tongue flick out against Dave's before he caught the tip of it with his lips, sucking slightly. I shuddered, moaning at the feeling, heart pounding. This definitely wasn't something that Dave could take back to his friends to get at me for. The was genuine, Dave was into it to. I was getting hard, despite how much I didn't want that to happen, didn't want to make it awkward.

But now his lips were traveling down to my throat and I swallowed hard, tilting my head back onto the wall so that he had the space he needed. Holy shit that was nice. Sure I'd kissed some peope and I'd seen a lot of movies, but beyond kissing I was void of anything. Letting out a little whimper my hips involuntarily ground down against the leg between mine. "Don't stop", I breathed, blue eyes half lidded as I looked down at the boy.

My breath hitched when I saw Dave peering back up at me and I felt him smirking against my skin. His mouth had found a sensitive spot to latch on and he was sucking at it hard, licking and biting every so often and making me squirm. Apparently Dave liked that reaction and he nudged his leg against me slightly, a sign that he was basically giving me the okay. Shamelessly I was grinding down against his leg, head tossed back as he continued to suck at my neck. I was going to have a mark there but the amount of care I had on the subject was just gone. All that mattered was the things that Dave was doing to me.

Suddenly both of his hands were on my ass, lifting me up, body pinning me against the wall. And Jesus, Mary and Joseph he was hard. I could feel his erection through his jeans, as he ground against me, pressing me hard against the wall. It was just too much. I moved my hands, one locking into those blonde locks and the other resting on his shoulder as I yanked him up to crush out lips together, letting out a moan that even surprised him. My fingers tightened in his hair as the grinding got harder, it was unbearable and he was sucking at my bottom lip, biting at it and I came undone.

My hips rocked back against his own quickly and then gradually I slowed down, breaking down the kiss. I was panting hard as Dave slowly let me down. There was a sticky mess in my pants and I frowned, that was super embarrassing. Did that really just happen?

"Shit, I'm sorry." I looked up at him, Dave was panicking. "I'm so sorry, I'm going to go I just. Fuck, see you at school."

Before I could even say a word, Dave was gone, faster than he had even arrived in the first place. Everything came crashing down on me at once. I was alone again. Had I done something wrong? God I was so lame. He probably thought I was acting like a little kid or something. "Don't go."I whispered to myself, voice cracking as the door shut behind the blond. Now, more than ever, I felt consumed by my own loneliness. This time, it was my own fault.

Leaning up against the wall I slowly slid down, not even bothering to worry about the nasty mess in my pants, even if I would be more than disgusted. It was then that I realized Dave's shades were sitting on the ground not too far from myself. Reaching over I grabbed the sunglasses, looking over them. He had carelessly left his shades there, and I had to return them. I wasn't looking forwardto it, but atthe same time, it gave me an excuse to see him again.

I felt like such an idiot.

Dave likes me, and I might have just blown it.


	5. Chapter 5

In the end there was no choice, I had to go see Dave at some point because I had his glasses.

After I had managed to scrape myself off the floor I stumbled to my bedroom and changed into some new boxers and then a pair of basketball shorts. It was a lot more comfortable than the pants I had been wearing that I ruined. What I really needed was a shower, but things first was just getting Dave's shades back to him. Whether he hated me or not, I knew that he wore his shades for a reason and I wasn't going to be an ass and basically steal them.

Taking my time to get down the stairs, I looked around for anything else he could have dropped before taking the short walk to his house, about to knock on the door when I heard people talking.

"Look Bro, I know you've been taking extra shifts and shit but you can't tell me that you haven't seen Dave acting extra weird. It's not like his usual spoiled brat weird either, he's actually doing some weird ritual thing." There was a pause, a few clanks from the garage before a response came.

"Dirk, just because Dave uses up the hot water when he showers doesn't mean he's performing rituals. Lil bro's got to grow up at some point. Stop being an idiot."

"Okay hear me out", they were still arguing it seemed. I had never heard about Dave having another brother other than the one everyone called Bro. This couldn't have been a cousin or something either. I moved a little closer, tiptoeing on the way to the garage and not really paying attention to where I was going. My foot caught in the snares of the hose and I tripped, landing in a bunch of scrap metal by the edge of the garage, right into the line of view. The boy named Dirk cut off his sentence and he was looking at me with his mouth hanging open in the middle of a word. "Who the hell is this kid?"

Sitting up slowly and groaning I inspected my arms and legs, seeing I had gotten scraped up a bit and Dirk seemed to snap out of his little haze, moving over and taking one of my arms, carefully hoisting me to my feet. Smiling sheepishly I cleared my throat, "I uh, I'm John. Dave left his shades at my house so I thought I'd return them. I figured they had some crazy significance or something."

Now that I had a better look at him, it was very apparent that Dirk was what you could call a "grease monkey" or something of the sort. He was wearing a leather jacket and a white shirt underneath it, along with some black jeans. Like every stereotypical grease monkey he had a few black smears on his cheeks and his hand had left a little black smudge on my arm here and there. There was a very obvious resembelence in the family it seemed, they all had the same golden blonde hair and freckles. I found myself wondering if all their eyes were the same shade.

"That was really nice of you", came the response of Bro, who had stepped over to join me and Dirk. "But Dave isn't home. I saw him walking somewhere. If it helps I'll be sure to give them to him when he gets back if you want." I smiled at him and nodded, feeling a little at ease. The Strider's looked intimidating from a far, but when they opened their mouths it was a lot different.

They seemed very hospitable, welcoming, which was weird because Dave was always shut in on himself. Licking my lips I looked down for a moment, maybe they would pass along this message as well, "can you tell Dave I'm sorry as well? And that if he hates me or something that I'm okay with it. I mean I don't know what I did but I'm pretty sure I messed up."

Both of the older boys turned to look at eachother, smirking before turning back to me. Dirk placed a hand on my shoulder and shook me once. "Actually, to be honest I'm sure he's not really mad at you. Assuming you are who we think you are. Dave's a big loser and no matter how hard he may try to act like he has no feelings he's actually this big lame teddy bear."

A small chuckle escaped my lips and I bit down on the bottom, "he does act pretty lame sometimes. Sometimes he makes these goofy faces at himself in like his phone. It's strange but I never mentioned it to him." Dirk was laughing, and Bro gave a warm smile before shaking his head and going back to working at a bike that was propped up against the work station. I didn't get what was so funny, and I noticed Dirk's shade's weren't really pointed down anymore, but instead straight ahead.

When I turned around Dave was standing there with a strange expression, looking more embarrassed than anything with a light pink blush on his cheeks, his lips parted like he wanted to speak. I licked my own, fondly remembering how Dave's had been against mine under half an hour ago. "Uh, hey Dave."

"You spoke to my _brothers?_ "He sounded horrified, not in a bad way, but in a sort of sibling rivalry sort of way. It was cute. "You never speak to my brothers, everything they said has been a lie okay? No matter how cool they seem." Stepping forward he took the shades that were in my hands and slipped them onto his face, adjusting them to sit properly. 

"Thanks though, John. For bringing these." Nodding slowly I looked away and he sighed, flicking Dirk's hand so he would let go of my shoulder before grabbing my wrist. "Do you care if we go inside for a moment, I have to talk to you."

"Oh not at all Davey baby." Came Dirk's reply before I could even open my mouth, and I laughed at that. Dave made a sour face.

"I wasn't talking to you, asshole." Dave looked back at me and I nodded at him, allowing him to pull me through the garage and then into the house. It was freezing in there, and I found myself shivering, realizing I had left Jake's jacket back at my house. A weight fell on my shoulder's and I was shocked to see Dave's jacket there, covering me. Smiling gently I leaned up against the wall, Dave having stopped walking when we got a little away from the door.

"Look John", he began, reaching up to run a hand through his hair, and I smirked because _the_ Dave Strider was nervous because he was trying to tell me something. That blush still hadn't left his cheeks either. "I'm sorry I ran out on you like that. It was childish, and stupid." Sighing he licked his lips before nodding slowly, and I just stared on. "I enjoyed it, a lot, and I was freaked out because I felt like I had taken advantage of you because I never do something like that to someone without something to back me up. I guess my point is." He stopped, took a deep breath and then reached up to pull his shades down a little so he could look me in the eye.

"Will you go on a date with me? Just something simple? We can go to denny's or the movies or something. I just don't want it to seem like I did that to use you, y'know?" 

I felt my breath catch and I could feel the heat in my cheeks. I didn't even will it to go away, just keeping my eyes locked with Dave's before looking down and off to the side. "A date would be nice. It would maybe make me feel a little better or something." When I looked up, Dave was smiling, and he opened his arms for a hug which I stepped into gladly, hugging him tight. 

"Tomorrow night. I'll be knocking at your door at seven."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Filler chapter before the big date wheee  
> please leave feedback in case i have a spelling error or maybe ooc


	6. Chapter 6

I've been thinking a lot recently about all the things that have been happening to me, really it was all just so overwhelming. Jake and I kissed, and Dave and I did... Things. All of this was freaking me out because really did other teenagers have to deal with crazy mixed feelings like this? I could swear that I was going just a little bit crazy.

That aside, right now I was worrying about what the hell to wear on a date. Did I have to look nice? My fashion sense wasn't exactly the classiest and I wasn't sure what Dave wanted me to wear or even what he was wearing.

What if I showed up looking casual and he showed up in formal wear? Talk about stressful as hell and I didn't even know if I liked the guy, yet here I was worrying about what he would think when he saw what I was wearing. Groaning, I tossed myself onto the bed face first and rolled around a bit, just letting the covers wrap around me. Sometimes I wished that I could just stay in bed forever and never come out. That would make things so much easier for me. No one would like me because I would be a hermit and I wouldn't have to deal with twisted mix feelings or worrying about what I was wearing because lets face it I would always be naked.

Alright John, you have to get up and get dressed, you probably have plenty of time to choose. Slowly I peeked out from underneath my cocoon to see that the time flashed on my clock as 6:53. 

"Shit", there was notime to just laze around, I had to look good. Begrudgingly I dragged myself out of the bed, stumbling over to the pile of clothes that had accumulated from my frantic changing just a few minutes before. "Okay, deep breaths. Dave won't care what you look like and you shouldn't care either. Just pick up a pair of pants and a shirt and just put them on." With that I closed my eyes and stuck my hand in the pile, pulling out what felt like a pair of jeans and a shirt.

Of course, when I opened my eyes it just had to be Jake's jacket and some blue plaid jeans. They didn't match at all, and Dave wouldn't exactly to see me wearing Jake's jacket when we were on a date, but it had to do. Putting on the jacket I buttoned it up before pulling on the jeans. Even if it didn't exactly match it was still comfortable as hell, which counted for something at least.

As I walked down stairs I could hear talking and I froze in my tracks. It was my dad and he was speaking to Dave, I just knew it by the way his voice was and oh shit I was nervous about this. Slowly, I creeped down so I could get a view of the door. From what I could see Dave was leaning leisurley against the wall as my Dad clapped a hand down on his shoulder.

"Now son, make sure that you're good to my son tonight. He's very excited about this and he's kind of fragile about these sort of things." My dad was completely oblivious to the fact that I was standing there, but something told me that Dave had seen me despite those shades blocking my view of his eyes. The corners of his lips rose in a smile and he laughed, sticking out a hand towards my father. 

"I can promise you that I'll take good care of him tonight, and I'll have him back before midnight." With that they shook hands and I sent a glare to Dave who just seemed to crack at that moment, laughing. "Speak of the devil." At this they stopped shaking hands and my Dad turned around, a warm smile on his face as our eyes met and I inwardly groaned, I was going to end up getting some weird sex talk when I got back. Honestly I hadn't even wanted my dad to know about the date, but I had accidentally let it slip in my panic about an hour earlier.

On shaking feet I finished walking down the stairs, stopping by my Dad and Dave feeling as awkward as ever while they both sized me up for different reasons. There was this frown on Dave's face that said he didn't like that I was wearing Jake's jacket, while on me Dad's face he just looked so damn pleased.

I needed to get out of this house.

Reaching over I practically snatched Dave's hand in my own, nails biting into the back of his hand and I could tell he was uncomfortable but he was trooping it out. "I'm glad you two met but Dave and I really need to get going Dad." I hadn't even waited for a response before I was throwing open the door and tugging Dave out, dragging him down the sidewalk because it appeared that he didn't have a vehicle so obviously he had walked. After a good five minutes of silence I stopped, turning to look at him when we were at a sade distance from my house.

"God damn, it makes me so nervous when people talk to my dad, I'm always afraid he's going to say something embarrassing..." The laugh that Dave had in response told me that my dad probably did say something super embarrassing and I wasn't just overreacting. My dad did that sometimes, told people stuff about me when I was a baby or habits that I had now like collecting ghost busters figurines or loving bands like Marianas Trench even though there was nothing wrong with that... They just had good music was all.

Dave gave my hand a squeeze and then slowly let go, a reassuring smile on his face. "It's okay John, really. He didn't tell me anything really bad, just some little things that can help me out. Tips." If I wasn't nervous before I was really nervous now because god damn it my dad wasn't supposed to be giving my date tips he was supposed to try and scare him off with a shot gun. Wasn't that something that dads did? Or maybe that was just for girls. If that was the case I would gladly put on a dress because this was nerve wrecking as hell.

"Great so you and my Dad are in cahoots." That's just what I wanted to hear. That was a joke, if you couldn't tell that was a joke, you obviously have no sense of sarcasm. Letting out a sigh I reached up to scratch the back of my head. "That aside, what even are we doing for this date anyway, you never told me." That seemed to stump him, and Dave licked his lips before nodding slowly.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could go to like, a restaurant or something. But uh..." Shifting back and forth on his feet he looked down, "I kind of don't have a lot of money so I hope you're up for a romantic dinner at Taco Bell because that's where we're going."

Okay despite the fact that it was a bit of a cheap date, it was endearing. Maybe he wasn't that bad, and really I kind of knew that already. Despite the fact that he wouldn't stand up for me in school and he was sort of a big loser and a bit of a pansy, he was a sweetheart. 

He was full of surprises.

So we walked for a good fifteen minutes before we showed up at the Taco Bell. I learned after we had ordered our food that Dave didn't actually eat a lot which made me feel like a bit of a fatty. While we were sitting at out table eating I could feel Dave's knees ocasionally bump mine and I would smile at him. There wasn't a lot of talking going on between us but that was nice, every so often I could see Dave just sitting there watching me as i sipped at my drink and I would blush. 

To think that I had been scared of him before, really he was just some sappy romantic dork who took his dates out to places like Taco Bell.

He was a loser.

A cute loser.

Oh god I was thinking he was cute, there was something wrong with me. 

Abort. Abort.

"You know, I'm really sorry about running out the other day."

My eyes snapped up to look at him, and he looked completely apologetic, hell even his shades were off and I bit at my bottom lip. "I uh... It's okay. It's pretty much both of our faults and I was pretty worked up about it all too..." Which was true, I had cried like a baby afterwards because I had weirdy felt so fucking used. But this date sort of changed things, Dave was pretty much an awkward loser like me... If not more so.

After we finished up our awkward talk about whatever had happened at my house, we started walking back, our hands loosely clasped together because Dave had insisted that we held hands. Though about halfway there our finger had moved so that they were laced together a bit more comfortably. I couldn't look at him, my heart was fucking racing because really I had never held hands with someone on something like an actual date before. 

Then came the serious part, we were back at my house.

Now I wasn't really one for cheesy romantics, but when he took both of my hands and cleared his throat my face went red as hell. Jesus christ he was going to kiss me. This wasn't one of the kisses from before, this was like romantic movie kiss. This was actually happening.

Dave was leaning down and I stood on my tip toes without a second thought for our lips to just press together and whether I wanted to admit it or not it felt good kissing Dave. Now I wasn't in love with him or anything, it wasn't love at first sight or anything of the sort but... I felt like I could like him. It was entirely possible that I may want to go on a date again with one Dave Strider.

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the "generic highschool au" from tumblr if you don't really get the jist of it. Jock Dave, Shy John, and New Kid Jake? What more could I add I don't even know.  
> http://zeborah.tumblr.com/tagged/generic%20highschool%20au  
> You can learn more about it here from the respective I guess "owner". (:


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